US open: Stocks higher ahead of Fed decision

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

As of 1520 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.31% at 34,745.93, while the S&P 500 was 1.85% firmer at 4,436.86 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.46% stronger at 13,871.92.

The Dow opened 448.20 points higher on Wednesday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session as corporate earnings, geopolitical tensions and a downgrade in global growth forecasts remain in focus throughout the session.

Wednesday's primary focus will be the Federal Reserve's rate decision at 1900 GMT and press conference at 1930 GMT, with market participants hoping to gauge just when the central bank will raise interest rates and by how much. Economists expect the Fed to signal a rate hike as soon as March, with more policy tightening likely to follow in order to address high inflation.

Ahead of the announcement, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was slightly higher at 1.782%.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 7.1% in the week ended 21 January, the sharpest decline in two months, with the refinancing index plunging 12.6% and the purchase index slipping 1.8%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Elsewhere, the US goods trade balance hit an all-time high of $101.0bn in December, ahead of estimates for $96.0bn and November's revised print of $98.0bn, according to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau. Imports rose 2% to $258.26bn and exports rose at a slower 1.4% clip to $157.3bn

Lastly, new home sales rose 11.9% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 811,000 in December, following a similar increase in November and easily beating market expectations of 760,000 to hit their highest level since March 2021.

In the corporate space, Boeing stock was in the red after it announced positive cash flow for the first time since 2019 in its fourth-quarter results but missed market expectations on revenue and losses per share after taking a $3.5bn pre-tax charge on its 787 Dreamliner programme, while home appliances manufacturer Whirlpool will announce earnings after the close.

Microsoft shares were also in focus after the tech behemoth posted better-than-expected quarterly revenues guidance.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $302.81 4.97%
American Express Co. (AXP) $178.89 3.34%
Visa Inc. (V) $208.45 3.19%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $149.82 2.25%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $349.16 2.23%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $218.74 2.07%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $148.25 1.90%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $58.17 1.73%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $51.81 1.59%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $218.43 1.41%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $201.29 -1.38%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $135.01 -0.80%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.54 -0.68%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.92 -0.34%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $159.53 -0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
3M Co. (MMM) $174.43 0.39%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $169.39 0.47%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $168.48 0.51%

S&P 500 - Risers

Corning Inc. (GLW) $40.35 14.31%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $21.51 9.69%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $71.99 5.30%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $71.50 5.15%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $302.81 4.97%
Macerich Co (MAC) $17.49 4.73%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $182.35 4.68%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $75.85 4.56%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $386.84 4.52%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $139.48 4.52%

S&P 500 - Fallers

F5 Inc. (FFIV) $195.21 -11.72%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $200.84 -7.40%
Rollins Inc. (ROL) $29.59 -5.34%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $132.63 -5.01%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $169.76 -2.74%
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $120.00 -2.65%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $148.97 -2.10%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $31.00 -1.65%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $47.46 -1.56%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $116.93 -1.55%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $302.81 4.97%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $182.35 4.68%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $75.85 4.56%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $386.84 4.52%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $181.55 4.36%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $145.91 4.36%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $556.12 4.12%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $138.12 3.86%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $380.53 3.85%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,418.48 3.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $200.84 -7.40%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $232.10 -1.70%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $116.93 -1.55%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $67.86 -1.42%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $117.92 -1.09%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $73.60 -0.74%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $71.66 -0.68%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $130.85 -0.38%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.92 -0.34%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $105.44 -0.22%